A nice start to be sure thanks to four baseball needs. I'll scan the Leach separately soon as I'm working on a PC for him. A pair of Spuds is always welcome! It's always nice to see Rice, and a duo of Super Marios fits in well too.

And now for the hockey, a.k.a. Doug's forte. He included a really nice mix of players here, including Hensick, of whom I'd like more because of the way he starred in Ann Arbor.

The rest of the hockey base, including a Morrison and a trio of Turcos! Maybe I'll get around to scanning their PCs at some point too, though I could never afford to supercollect either.

And now on to the really big stuff:

Hal Morris 2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites auto

I was instantly excited when he let me know this one was coming since I was planning all along to pick one up somehow. Hal is the 18th different member of my baseball PC, and this was a great way to kickstart his collection. I love that he's another example of a good player the Yankees traded away in the 80s/90s when they went a long time without seriously contending. (Jay Buhner, anyone?) Better yet, he finished his career as a Tiger. This appears to be Hal's only solo certified auto, and it'll have a cherished place in my PC.

At this point Doug was clearly in hockey withdrawal as evidenced by the following seven cards:

Jack. Motherf$&king. Johnson. Hooray for three sweet new relics of one of my favorite UM defensemen in recent memory. All of these are above-average relics in my book, too--a pair of duals with zero boring colors, and a thick, BLUE swatch from his current team. I now own five relics and an autograph of the bruising blueliner.

Brendan Morrison 2008-09 Artifacts Frozen Artifacts jersey

Brendan Morrison 2009-10 Upper Deck Game Jerseys jersey

Doug never fails to include stuff of my favorites, Turco and Morrison. Here I get swatches from two of the teams he suited up for during his solid career, including what I think may be a Don Cherry-approved Capitals swatch. B-Mo again clinches a tie with Turco for a sport-leading 15 hits, including eight relics and seven autographs. With Doug's help I may be able to piece together a complete Morrison jersey soon.

Jeff Tambellini 2010-11 Upper Deck Game Jerseys jersey

Tambellini, a new addition to the collection, was a flat-out sniper in his three seasons in Ann Arbor, '02-'03 through '04-'05--all three seasons I had season tickets during my undergrad years there. He potted 65 goals and 129 points as a go-to scorer, the kind of player Michigan has sorely lacked recently. He was born with hockey in his blood as his father Steve was a solid player in his own right before joining Edmonton as their GM from 2008-2013. This very orange swatch is a nice start towards what will hopefully be a growing collection!

Finally, what I'd say ties with the Morris as the most exciting card of the package, is this gorgeous hit of former UM four-year center Travis Turnbull. Like Tambellini, Turnbull also had an NHL father, Perry, and the Wolverines prepared Travis for a future of continuing the family business. This is just a beautiful hit from a set I'm quickly growing to appreciate thanks to the presence of another former Wolverine you'll see in a future post. It's also REALLY thick, and a scan doesn't really let you appreciate how deep the swatches are embedded. As was Tambellini, Turnbull is more than welcome to his new place as a member of my hockey PC, of which he's the 25th member.

Doug, you managed to send me a ridiculous package like you always do, one that hits a ton of my collections. I will be responding in kind before the month is out, and now I'm gonna have to try hard to top you again. Readers, go enjoy some posts about the benefits of frugal collecting over at Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!